Libraries as Places: Buildings for the 21st century: Proceedings of the Thirteenth Seminar of IFLA's Library Buildings and Equipment Section together with IFLA's Public Libraries Section Paris, France, 28 July - 1 August 2003 [Reprint 2011 ed.] 9783110935622, 9783598218392

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IFLA Publications 109

Libraries as Places: Buildings for the 21st century Proceedings of the Thirteenth Seminar of IFLA’s Library Buildings and Equipment Section together with IFLA’s Public Libraries Section Paris, France, 28 July – 1 August 2003 Edited by Marie-Françoise Bisbrouck, Jérémie Desjardins Céline Ménil, Florence Poncé François Rouyer-Gayette

K · G · Saur München 2004

IFLA Publications edited by Sjoerd Koopman

Recommended catalogue entry: Libraries as Places: Buildings for the 21st century Proceedings of the Thirteenth Seminar of IFLA’s Library Buildings and Equipment Section together with IFLA’s Public Libraries Section [International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions]. – München : Saur, 2004, 210 p. 21 cm (IFLA publications ; 109) ISBN 3-598-21839-7

Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Bibliothek Die Deutsche Bibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the Internet at http://dnb.ddb.de.

U Printed on acid-free paper The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences – Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48.1984. © 2004 by International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, The Hague, The Netherlands Alle Rechte vorbehalten / All Rights Strictly Reserved K.G.Saur Verlag GmbH, München 2004 Printed in the Federal Republic of Germany All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system of any nature, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed / Bound by Strauss Offsetdruck, Mörlenbach ISBN 3-598-21839-7 ISSN 0344-6891 (IFLA Publications)

Table of contents 1.

Table of contents………………………………………………………………. 3

2.

Introduction to the 13th seminar: Marie-Françoise Bisbrouck…………. 5

3.

Program………………………………………………………………………….. 7

4.

The library as place: challenges in the Digital Age: Kenneth Dowlin…………………………………………………………….…...11

5.

The future is now – library re-engeneering in the 21st century: Andrew Cranfield, Claus Bjarrum ……………………………………………39

6.

Inspiring learning and teaching: the new integrated Learning Centre at Sheffield Hallam University: Graham Bulpitt……...65

7.

Supporting independent learning: the pioneering new design at the University of Hertforshire: Di Martin……………………… 73

8.

Daring to be different: The Frederick Lanchester Building and the Lanchester Library at Coventry University: Patrick Noon……89

9.

An innovative approach to reaching the non-learning public: the new Idea Store in London: Heather Wills……………………………103

10. Les mesures de sécurité et leur impact sur la construction des bibliothèques: l’exemple de la bibliothèque de l’Université Denis Diderot-Paris VII dans le bâtiment des Grands Moulins de Paris : Denis Thélot et Nicolas Mayeur……..117 11. The public library in heritage building: types and examples; Ignasi Bonet………………………………………………………123 12. Objectif : Haute Qualité Environnementale : Alain Bornarel………….135 13. La flexibilité du concept Architectural Bus dans le cadre de la Bibliothèque du Campus scientifique de l’Université de Caen : Jean-Louis Baal……………………………………147

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14. Designing the Sustainable Library : An Ethical Imperative: Jeffrey A. Scherer.....................................................................................161 st 15. Libraries as Place : Buildings for the 21 Century / Les bibliothèques : des bâtiments pour le 21ème siècle: François Rouyer-Gayette…………………………………………………….183

16. Attendance List………………………………………………………………..203

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Introduction to the Thirteenth Seminar Marie-Françoise BISBROUCK Director of the Library, University Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV), Paris, France Standing Committee member of the IFLA Section Library buildings and Equipment, Chair of the Organizing Committee of the Seminar. I would like to welcome all of you as participants in the Thirteenth Seminar, the IFLA Section Library Buildings and Equipment organizes in Paris this summer, kindly hosted by the Goethe Institut Inter Nationes. This seminar is co-organized with the IFLA Section Public Libraries as an official Pre-conference to the 2003 Berlin IFLA Council and General Conference. As you certainly know, such seminars are being held every two years (former seminars: The Hague, 1997; Shanghai, 1999; Boston, 2001) to allow architects and librarians to share experiences in the field of library planning and building process. Digital technologies, economic pressures, security, shifting user needs and expectations are among the forces that are dramatically reshaping libraries today. These compelling forces affect every dimension of library operations and require a reconsideration of existing and planed library space along many dimensions: user space, collection space, service space, activity space, social space, intellectual space, and virtual space. The seminar will particularly focus on the following topics: • • • •

Redefining and reinforcing the library’s place and exploring how library space is being redefined and reshaped today. The library as a learning place for developing users’ autonomy. The library buildings facing constraints (standards, spaces, safety, etc.). The “green library”: are we able today to promote library buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work? And what does it cost?

The goals of this seminar are to engage you in an exploration of important issues affecting the future development of library space, and to help prepare to envision and make the case for innovative library spaces that are directly responsive to user needs and interests of the community. I would like to thank personally each person who has helped to prepare the seminar, and at first our colleagues and hosts of the Goethe Institut, Hella Klauser and Vera Neuland, and my French colleagues, François Rouyer-Gayette and Jérémie

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Desjardins from the Ministry of Culture (Direction du Livre et de la Lecture), Florence Poncé, librarian at the Public Library of Le Havre, member of the IFLA Public Library Section, Céline Ménil, director of the Library of the Université du Maine and Mireille Chazal, director of the Library of the Université du Littoral, both Standing Committee members of the IFLA Section Library buildings and Equipment. Many thanks to the organizers of the different sessions and to the speakers who have worked hard to prepare their contribution. They will do their best to inform you about the best developments they have experimented in their libraries. I also would like to thank warmly the two French ministries, Culture and Higher Education, which are deeply involved in the development of libraries in France, Public and Academic ones. They have made this seminar possible on giving us money and supporting us very strongly. All my thanks too to our sponsors, Samodef, Borgeaud Bibliothèques, 3 M-France, Sedeco, Tixit and Nelco, and to the directors of the libraries and their staff for hosting us to visiting their libraries during the preseminar in Champagne (Chalons en Champagne, Reims and Troyes) and next Saturday in Paris (Bibliothèque publique d’Information, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Bibliothèque de la Fondation nationale des Sciences politiques et Bibliothèque de l’Institut Pasteur). Welcome to all of you! I wish we will have a very stimulating and successful seminar, which will give us the opportunity of finding new ideas to develop our libraries.

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XIII IFLA LIBRARY BUILDINGS SEMINAR Libraries as places: Buildings for the 21st Century Programme

Pre-seminar Monday 28th July 2003 8.00 : Welcome and registration of the participants 8.15 : Departure by bus for a two day trip through Champagne 10.30 Visit of the "Médiathèque Cathédrale" (Public Library) in Reims 13.00 – 14.00 Visit of the "Bibliothèque des Jésuites" in Reims 14.00 – 16.00 Visit of the "Bibliothèque Carnegie" (Public Library) in Reims 16.00 – 17.30 Visit of the Reims Cathedral th Tuesday 29 July 2003

9.00 Departure by bus to Châlons-en-Champagne 10.30 Visit of the "Bibliothèque municipale à vocation régionale Georges Pompidou » (Public Library) in Châlons-en-Champagne 13.00 Departure by bus to Troyes 14.30 Visite of the Médiathèque de l'agglomération troyenne in Troyes (Public Library) 17.00 Back to Paris by bus

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Seminar (The seminar was hosted by the Goethe Institute Inter Nationes in Paris) Wednesday 30th July 2003 9.00 - 9.30 Registration 9.30 - 10.00 Opening of the seminar 10.00 - 13.00 Session 1: Redefining and reinforcing the library’s place and exploring how library space is being redefined and reshaped today. Organiser : Anders C. DAHLGREN, President, Library Planning Associates, Madison (WI), USA Introduction: Anders C. DAHLGREN The Library as Place: Challenges in the Digital Ages Kenneth DOWLIN, Associate Director, San Jose State University, School of Library and Information Science, Fullerton (CA), USA st The future is now – library re-engineering in the 21 century Andrew CRANFIELD, Deputy Director, Slagelse County Library, Slagelse, Denmark

14.00-17.30 Session 2: The library as a learning place for developing users' autonomy. Organiser: Professor Andrew McDONALD, Director of Information Services, University of Sunderland, United Kingdom Introduction: Andrew McDONALD Inspiring learning and teaching: the new integrated Learning Centre at Sheffield Hallam University Graham BULPITT, Director, Learning Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, United Kingdom Supporting independent learning: the pioneering new design at the University of Hertfordshire Di MARTIN, Director of Learning & Information Services, University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom

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Daring to be different : enhancing the student experience at Coventry University Patrick NOON, University Librarian, Coventry University, United Kingdom An innovative approach to reaching the non-learning public: the new Idea Stores in London Heather WILLS, Idea Store Programme Director, Tower Hamlets, London, United Kingdom Discussion with a panel of speakers st Thursday 31 July 2003

9.30-12.45 Session 3 : The library buildings facing constraints (standards, spaces, safety…) Chair: Barbara CLUBB, city librarian, Ottawa Public Library, Ottawa, Canada Introduction : Barbara CLUBB The Public Library in heritage building: Types and exemples Ignasi BONET, architect, Library Service, Diputacio de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Access and Security - Resolving the challenge: The Public Library of Birmingham John DOLAN, assistant Director, Library and Information Services, Birmingham Leisure and Culture, Birmingham City Council, United Kingdom The safety measures and their impact on library buildings. The example of Denis Diderot University Library (Paris VII), Paris Denis THELOT and Nicolas MAYEUR, Safety architects, Préfecture de Police de Paris, Paris, France Discussion

14.00 – 17.30 Session 4 : The « Green Library » : are we able today to promote library buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work? And what does it cost? Chair: Barton CLARK, Associate University Librarian for Planning and Budgeting, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champain, Urbana, USA Introduction by M. Barton CLARK, Associate University Librarian for Planning and Budgeting, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champain, Urbana, USA

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Designing the sustainable Library: an Ethical Imperative Jeffrey A. SCHERER, architect, Meyer, Scherer + Rockcastle, LTD, Architecture, Interior Design and Urban design, Minneapolis, USA The High Quality for Environnement (HQE) : Principles, definition, applications. Alain BORNAREL, Ingénieur, TRIBU Conseil, France Subversive Classicism: The Saxon State and University Library Dresden. The ecological concept of a library underground Thomas BÜRGER, assistant director, Sächsische Landesbibliothek - Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, Dresden, Germany Buildings for today and tomorrow… The example of the new University of Caen Scientific Library Jean-Louis BAAL, architect, Architectural BUS Ingéniérie, Heuland, France Discussion and Conclusion st Friday 1 August 2003

9.00 – 11.30 : Visit of libraries 4 libraries are proposed : The Bibliothèque Nationale de France (245.000 m2, opened 1996) The Pasteur Institute Library (Medical library, 3.000 m2, new building, opened beginning 1995 3. The Bibliothèque Publique d’Information (Georges Pompidou Center, 15.000 m2, opened 1977, completely renovated and refurbished 2001) 4. The National Foundation of Political Sciences Library (Old building, completely renovated, reopened April 2003). 1. 2.

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The library as Place: Challenges in the Digital Age Kenneth E. DOWLIN, Professor, Associate Director, San José State University, Scool of Library and Information Science, Fullerton, California, USA Abstract Much of the literature in Library and Information Science (LIS), as well as the popular press, give the impression that the future of libraries will be focused on one of two bipolar trends – bricks or clicks. In the 80s and 90s library buildings were often presented as outmoded since the virtual library would make physical facilities and geographic location irrelevant to the successful library. The “place” of the library could be anywhere and everywhere. The author’s forty year experience in LIS with 34 years as a Public Library Director during which he led the creation of three new main libraries, 16 branch libraries, and the renovation of over 20 branches has provided a great deal of knowledge in building projects. At the same time he earned international recognition as an expert in the use of new technologies in libraries. In the recent years as a faculty member, and Associate Director of the School of Library and Information Science, he has become adept at using information and communication technology for course delivery outside of the traditional classroom. This extensive experience, education, and practice leads him to believe that the primary barrier to the creation of the virtual library is that it is also nowhere, which creates the situation where there is no community to support the funding. Thus, the physical presence is still critical to library success. Therefore, it is the convergence, not the divergence that is the nexus of success for the library of the future. It will service as the communication hub (the virtual icon) as well as the physical hub (the physical icon) of the multi-dimensional institution to meet the needs of their community for access to information, knowledge, and community communications. In considering the process needed to ensure continuous evolution of libraries, the metaphor often used is the creation of a road map to the future. However, when traveling uncharted waters, there is often no known destination, let alone a map. Thus the goal must be the creation of the shared vision of the destination which includes both physical and virtual strategic goals for the library within the community, and then a process that focuses on the collective journey through the next era. This paper presents a historic continuum of current library development, a surmise of what might be next, and the attributes of the successful facility for the next era in library development.

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Introduction I have had the good fortune in my career to occupy positions that encouraged me to think ahead. Always interested in technology and possible futures for libraries I had the opportunity in the 1980s to think about technologies that were emerging and applying them to the library business. My book, The Electronic Library: The Promise and the i Process in 1984 was an attempt to create a vision for the future based on my knowledge of the current times and of the past. ii It was very clear to me even then that the information and communication technology was starting to converge. It was also clear that the key issue to spur the convergence was the development of standards for content interchange. As President of the American Library Association’s Library and Information Technology division, I did know that the work on the standards that would provide the breakthrough to this convergence was underway. I didn’t know that it would be called the Internet, but I knew that at some point it would transform the process of communication, information storage, and access. As we know now, the Internet has revolutionized modern communication. Almost 20 years have passed since that time and I am now ready to take a new stab at what might be next in the continuum of library development. While the purpose of this paper is to focus on library buildings, it is necessary to provide the context for the creation of facilities for library functions and services. If we look briefly at the history of libraries from a functional standpoint, we will see that there is a symbiotic relationship between form and function. More often in recent times the function determines the form, with the building being designed after the program has been developed. It is important that we understand the function of the library before we start the design of a new building. We know that libraries have changed in the past and they will continue to change. As Ranganathan stated in his Fifth Law of Library Science, “A library is a iii growing organism.” History Our look at the history of libraries is like skipping a rock across a very large pond. We will only strike the surface from time to time. It is the continuum that we are after, not the details. Ancient Era The Alexandrian Library founded in 331 BC is perhaps the best known library in the ancient times. It is often cited as the start of libraries that went beyond personal ownership. These libraries were made available to a select few scholars, researchers, religious leaders and students. They were repositories requiring the

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user to be physically present in the facility. They often had very imposing structural iv features that made them appear temple like to the masses. Medieval Era Libraries continued to be established during this time although the preponderance had to do with royal families or religious organizations. Often they were one and the same. They still had limited access for the common person and the buildings usually took the architecture of the surrounding buildings. The library that still exists at Innerpeffray in Scotland claims to be the oldest continuous operating public library. It was built by a wealthy landowner, a commander of Charles I in Scotland and opened to v the townspeople in the 1680.

Revolutionary Era At the time that new countries or new open styles of government took place more libraries were established to provide access to printed material to commoners or trades people. The subscription library and the publicly supported community library began to take place. Access for a wider selection of users was pursued. The Mitchell Library in Glasgow Scotland started out as a private library vi and has now become a public reference library.

Carnegie Era Although the spread of libraries certainly proceeded the time of Andrew Carnegie, it was his leadership and money that made public and college libraries a fixture of the English speaking world. The Carnegie architect developed an architecture that was form specific based on the functions and services provided at the turn of the century practices.vii The so called “Carnegie Formula” that required the community to provide annual operational funds at least as much as ten per cent of the cost of the building ensured some level of ongoing support.viii This requirement for funding support spurred the community to expand access to the

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library to everyone. Thus, the collections were usually available to all, and the library provided services beyond just being a repository by including reference services and programs. In general most of the Carnegies were designed for four functions: 

The Repository for the books and other printed materials: These often had multiple tiers of metal shelving that were integral as a mass. These stacks were not generally open to the public, although over time more and more of the shelving was opened to direct access to the public.



The Reference room: This space housed the card catalog, the reference books, particularly the large sets of books, provided limited seating to the user who was using the collection in the room, and provided a reference desk for the inter-action between the staff and the patrons.



The Reading rooms:

This was where the user could read the materials retrieved from the stacks, the reference material in the room, or even their own material. Often there was more than one reading room, although the great reading rooms from the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, and the Bibliothèque Nationale or Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève in Paris are the images most often portrayed in nostalgic books of library history.



The Grand Entranceway: This mimicked the grand staircases into palaces, cathedrals, and other revered buildings. Many of those entrances suffered horrible remodels in order to accommodate the traffic flow and the circulation function that became a part of the successful library into the 30s.

Diane Asseo Griliches has fantastic images of library spaces from that time in the book ix LIBRARY, The Drama Within. Great Society In the 1960s in the United States Congress passed a series of acts that signaled a major shift in attitudes toward libraries in that country. Three specific acts: the Library Services Act for public libraries, the Higher Education Act for academic libraries, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act for schools established the de facto policy that anyone in the United States should have reasonable, free access to library

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resources and services. It became the norm that libraries were for everyone, even those minorities that had often been barred from public libraries. At the same time it became the practice in communities that the library would reach out to people in the community and beyond. Libraries extended service outside the main library through branch facilities, bookmobiles, telephone and other communication technologies. The challenge to meet the needs of the underserved was the constant topic a library conferences. I entered the librarian profession then; first as a bookmobile driver, then a library assistant, and at age 23 a library Director. It was at this time that the development of libraries became not just an academic exercise. It became a career that would last for me until now, and beyond. So far it is a span of 42 years; not huge in th the perspective of history, but certainly a significant chunk of the last half of the 20 Century. My career has mirrored the development of libraries in general, and in some cases helped to point the way to the next innovation. The Arvada Public Library The new library building I created in Arvada Colorado in 1965 was small (only about 10,000 square feet), but significantly larger and more functional than the old two story white house in which it had been located. The new one had parking, was on one floor (no steps), had a state of the art lighting and ventilation system, and provided a new space for community activities such as meetings, forums, and a small art gallery for community artists. That building is still in operation today as a branch of the Jefferson County Public Library. Its design was simple, and durable. This was definitely a building of the 1960s. x It was also my first venture in the use of computer equipment (actually tabulator card machines) for library operational functions. Natrona County Public Library At the Natrona County Public Library headquartered in Casper Wyoming a bond issue had been passed in 1968 to expand the building that was a Carnegie Building with a 1950s expansion. The librarian died about the time of the election and I was selected to head the library based on was my experience in the building in Arvada. This project was challenging in that it called for the demolition of the old Carnegie wing, remodeling of the 1950s wing, and an addition that would double the square footage. The remodeling wasn’t supposed to start until after the new wing was ready for occupancy. Unfortunately, the contractor started on the renovation of the old wing while it was still occupied. It was a mess. The library did gain a new grand entrance on the corner of a prominent intersection, a notable sculpture by a Wyoming artist to highlight

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the entrance, good lighting and ventilation, and more space. What was unique about the facility was the fact that it incorporated a cable television quality production studio in the lower level of the building adjacent to the community meeting rooms. This facility supported the production of hundreds of video programs that were distributed directly to over eight per cent of the homes in the city over the two cable television channels. In 1974 this library pioneered in the offering of reference services to the home in real time video. The inbound communications was via telephone. It worked rather well from a technical perspective, but suffered from the length of time required to find the content to put out over the video. The retrieval of the information itself had seen only marginal improvements from the traditional way. The improvements came from the fact that the new building was organized more efficiently than the old one. This innovation was well xi It was a major milestone in the documented in the library literature at the time. development of library outreach via telecommunications. In addition, the library used tab card machines for circulation of materials and had a very early fax machine as part of a project of the Western Compact on Higher Education Library project. I was given a special charge by the county commissioners to create the County Records System for all county departments. The system pioneered in the use of microforms, computerized indexing of records, and organization of disparate records using principles developed in Library Science. This library was a product of the 1970s with some glimpse of the community communications elements that are still developing today. xii

Pikes Peak Regional Library District The interest sparked by the cable television success in Casper led me to attempt to duplicate the cable TV programs in Colorado Springs Colorado when I assumed the Directorship of the Pikes Peak Regional Library District in 1975.xiii It turned out that the cable company had little interest in community communications. In 1987 a new library the size of the main library downtown was created in the rapidly growing northeast part of the city. The lessons learned in the creation of the previous buildings were applied and this library included a number of features that allow the library to function well almost 20 years later. Some of its advancements were:

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1)

A streamlined flow from the entrance of the parking lot into the building, through the building, and out through the circulation station in one even, intuitive flow for the user. The light and views draw the user into the library functional part and lead them to xiv their destination.

2)

A streamlined flow for all materials from the point of receipt either by walk in traffic, drive up bookdrop, or drive up service station through the checkin process, onto a truck, and onto the floor.

3)

Highly visible, well placed signage that led the user from the entry of the point through the rest of the building. The signage was at eye level andin the line of sight. They were well lighted and obvious.

4)

A three tiered reference service that provided a progression from informational question answering by technicians, to the librarians seated at desks with seating for the patron to answer indepth questions, to the librarians working at the third level in their offices. 5)

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Environmental control for the books, users, and staff through a computerized lighting and ventilation system that moved the shades in the vaulted skylights, turned on the artificial lightening when necessary and maintained an even temperature, light level, and air flow throughout the building regardless of the weather outside. The

temperatures in that part of the world could go from 10 degrees below 0 Fahrenheit to 60 degrees above in a matter of hours. The building adapted extremely well. The user has a choice of light ranging from direct sun on the balcony to incandescent or florescent inside. 6)

The computer hub for the entire library system was housed in controlled, flexible spaces and the connections for the devices in that building were accomplished through floor systems, ceiling systems, and riser columns. The basic grid for the connections provided access to video, security systems, telephone, and computer networks usually within two to four feet anywhere in the building. In staff and office spaces they were even more densely located. Maggie’s Place, one of the very first integrated library xv systems was housed here. 7)

The building set new standards for durability, environmental control, lighting, and openness of space, ease of use, access, materials distribution, and flexibility in reconfiguration of the facility. All but one wall can be removed and additional space added to the building. Since it sits on 15 acres of land it could become a huge facility.

8)

The building included a community communications center that includes a multi-purpose room that will seat about 250 people in a variety of configurations, a TV production studio, connectivity to the computer system, and a community art gallery.

9)

The building provided a large space for children’s library services with the workspaces, counters, and layout provided by the children’s librarians. It also included a crafts space for children’s projects.

This is a building of the 90s. It was the time of development of my theme “The Neographic Library”. That is, it could house and provide access to all of the technologies for information, knowledge, reading, and community communication within the facility. The infrastructure for their seamless interface was all included in the building.

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San Francisco Public Library By 1990 the funding was approved by the voters, the architects were hired for the New Main Library in San Francisco, the site had been selected and the political, press, and community fixation with the project began. This project is well documented in my previous paper for the IFLA Building pre-conference at Den Haag in 1996 and a preview of the library before it was opened is contained in xvi Library Journal in 1992. The San Francisco Public Library was intended to be a break through in the design and implementation of main library buildings in large U. S. cities. It was the hope of the architects, the City Librarian, the Leadership of the Friends and the Foundation of San Francisco PL (the core team of the project) that this project would set a new benchmark. At first it seemed that it had succeeded. The popularity of the new main in 1996 was astounding. Within 10 weeks one million people had visited the facility making it the busiest building in the San Francisco Bay area, if not California and beyond. At times the fire department enforced restricted entry to the building because of concerns of exceeding the capacity of the building. On some days the traffic was estimated at over 14, 000 people. There was no question that the building attracted people to it, excited and inspired them, provided much more space for seating and programming, increased the security of the people and the collections, and provided outstanding facilities for community communication. The involvement of the community in the planning and supporting for the building was a new level of community involvement. Over 17,000 individuals, families, foundations, corporations, and community organizations, and even politicians contributed over $30,000,000 to furnish showcase spaces and the basic furniture for the program in the building. It was very exciting. Probably the most significant development in the project was the level of support from individuals and the community. Affinity groups were formed that were allied with the Friends and Foundation of the library. They included the Gay/Lesbian group, the Afro/American group, the Chinese/American group, the Environmental supporters, the Filipino/American group, the Latino/American group, and a number of others. Any group in the community was invited to step forward and lead the creation of an affinity group. What was required was leadership in the community, a commitment to raise funds for the library, and serving as advocates for the program. The members of these affinity groups became vested in the success of the progress of the project. The funding and creation of the affinity centers as high profile display and study rooms was a major advance in community connectedness. In terms of today, they along with the children’s department, special collections, and the tower of the book room could be called Theme spaces. The core team had decided at the onset that not only was the goal to build a great public building, and a great library building; but to create a library with a soul. After

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much thought, it eventually became obvious that the soul of the building came from the people involved. The supporters of that library gave the building a tremendous soul, as well as much needed financial support. The private money also allowed the library to strive for excellence, which is unusual in a government project. Two years before the opening of the library, the community was asked to vote for a charter amendment that would double the revenue for the library, and lock it into a formula that would escalate with any increases in the city budget for 15 years. If you add up the bond funds for construction, the private funds for furnishing and equipping, and the ongoing operational budget for the life of the charter amendment you reach a whooping $600,000,000 provided or committed to that library. This is truly remarkable for a city of only 750,000 people. The building did set new standards for seismic mitigation, heating, ventilation, lighting and openness of the building, security of the occupants and collections, and ability to provide a comfortable environment for study, communication, and programs. The children’s area is one of the largest in the world. It was obvious to me that the implementation of the dream would not match the dream even before the building was completed. It is clearer now that the building was only an incremental improvement in the line of new large city main library buildings opened over the 1980s and 1990s. Thomas A. Horan who is on the faculty of Claremont Graduate University and an advocate for physical civic places sees the SFPL Main library as a recombinant library. xvii

My vision that the library would create new standards in operational efficiency and effectiveness was not to be realized. It was impossible to obtain funding for organizational development activities. Adequate funding for training, increasing communication skills, team building, and reorganization of the staff was impossible to get. I liken the transition for the staff as transitioning from a DC 3 airplane to a B747 without any training or tools of the modern aviation. Even though state of the art technology was high on the list of the people in the focus groups and showed up time and time again in surveys there was little progress in the larger arenas. Obtaining an Integrated Automated Library system was arduous, time consuming, and at times, painful. The unions worked diligently to obstruct progress. The funding had to come from mostly private funds with the public funding coming through leasing and other creative ways such as using funds from the earthquake recovery in 1989 to make the down payment on the computers. It was my goal to implement an online Decision Support System which would be an extension of the one developed by the team at PPLD. Self checkout was envisioned at different places in the building. It was my hope to have an interactive, networked graphic system for directional and communication signage. I requested that the network for data, voice, video, security, graphics, and life safety alarms all be in one integrated network reaching every part of the building. It was hoped that a real time measurement system for various parts of the building could show the status of occupancy of the different areas and the traffic level. I was shown the concept at the Louvre museum in Paris where it had been implemented as part of the life safety system. My hope was for a seamless system that would take the material

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items from the point of return, including the bookdrop on the sidewalk, to where it was to be shelved. I envisaged that the items would be shelved in a sequence from 000 to 999 from the bottom to the top of the building. Fully aware that the shelving capacity for collections was inadequate for only ten years, let alone 20 or more I did work with the architects to ensure easy access from the library to the abandoned convention center that is located below the plaza in Civic Center. Because of the political nature of this decision, a resolution was not made until 2003 to allow the library to use that space. The vision included reshelving of the collection items and cleaning the building at night after hours. The cleaning and maintenance part was implemented thanks to a very dedicated crew of maintenance workers and their leader. The reshelving after hours never got past the union. While it is clear that the building serves as an icon for the city and provides attractive, safe space for users and collections, it remains to be seen whether the other parts of the vision will ever take place. It is also clear that the reason that the full vision was not attained was because the authority for the decisions was dispersed over dozens of people and agencies. Just keeping everyone on track was a huge undertaking and there was always contention among the parties involved.

Malmo Public Library in Sweden The library in Malmo Sweden that opened in 1997 is almost a sequel building to SFPL.xviii The Director was strongly influenced by the writings of this author and worked to extend the envelope. It was a very successful addition to a historic building and was billed as the “Library for All Times”, and as “From Sleeping Castle to Knowledge Bank”. Their theme was “Imagination and Knowledge”. To quote the book published for the opening, “The new public library shows very concretely what a modern knowledge organization should look like. There is a close interplay between the new building, sophisticated information technology, the high level of professionalism of the staff, and a wide diversity in the xix One of the main features of the collections and systems for document delivery.” library was the extensive use of robotics to handle the physical materials. Even though there have been a number of implementations of robotics in Europe including the Bordeaux Public Library, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France and some of the large academic libraries in the U. S. to use automated conveyor belt systems to store and retrieve books and other objects, Malmo was one of the most creative implementations.

The path to designing library buildings in the future If we accept that the form of the building should follow from the function, the first step must be to define the function of the library and its various facilities. We have main libraries, branches, stations, bookmobiles, and various technology mediated services. In fact, it is important to define what is the library in the first place? During over 40

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years in the library business I have seen the library characterized as a collection, a building (or set of buildings), programs and services provided, and other attributes. There is a tendency to describe libraries in physical terms. This is a barrier in describing the virtual or digital library in terms that the public can understand. We must have a definition that encompasses all of the above, and incorporates the services, collections, channels, and other attributes of the Internet Age. My conclusion and the one that I teach to my students is that the library is a place, physical or virtual, for the practice of librarianship. And, of course the next question is, “what is librarianship?” To me Librarianship is: 1) mastering the craft skills needed in the selection, acquisition, organization, preservation, and access for the community served, 2) ascribing to a set of professional values and ethics, and 3) advocating publicly subsidized access to information, knowledge, the joys of reading, and community communication for their community. I believe it is helpful in teaching to breakdown the library into the four legged stool metaphor. All parts of the stool must be included in the planning and management of libraries. The four legs that I see are programs and services, collections, personnel, and technology. The seat is the enabler for the public. One thing that we do know is that change is pervasive in the libraries and one of the drivers for library design and management is the rate of acceleration in change. Fred Kilgour, the founding father of OCLC and one of the most creative thinkers in library land, talked about the fact that the entire history of the book could be entitled “faster, faster, faster”. He claims that in the first two millennia of writing decreased from 2,000 symbols to two dozen with a concomitant increase in speed. The codex book appeared in the second century A. D. and allowed random access to parts of the content that was much faster than rolling out a scroll. Mechanical writing replaced manual writing a dozen centuries later. Thus the speed went from a couple of pages an hour to 400 to 800. Our current technology expands increases the speed by a quantum leap.xx We know that societies are constantly moving faster and faster. Simply witness the driving on interstate highways, auto routes, and autobahns. The demand for information or knowledge now requires the library to speed up all of its processes. This poses one of the biggest risks to libraries. Attributes Perhaps we should start building our theme of the next generation library by listing desired attributes. A good starting point for the discussion is contained in an essay contest described in a paper in D-Lib Magazine by James W. Marcum about planning for the Fairleigh Dickinson University Libraries as a project with the New Jersey Association of Colleges and Research Libraries. This publication of the submissions for the contest is a wonderful source of vision for the academic library in the future. It starts xxi with an essay contest on the topic “The Academic Library in 2012”. . Then Marcum presents elements that he thinks will be present in the academic library in 2012. I think they also have relevance for public and other types of libraries. Most of the entries focused on one of three major themes as the major driving forces for change in

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academic libraries: technological developments, library function, and librarian’s roles with technology. The consensus is that technology developments will be the primary driver. However, the reconsideration of library functions ranked a close second. It has been my experience that the two elements feed off each other. Entries based around the librarians’ roles and behavior came in third in number. The list includes: xxii



Integrated Library System: The system will allow customized interfaces for individual patrons. It will include visualized searching, multi-media resources, and “on call” knowledge management tools.xxiii This sounds a lot like the “My Library” concept for the websites. This concept has been implemented in a number of universities and I recommended it to the Broward County Library in xxiv The automation system must be their Strategic Technology Plan. encompassing, reliable, pervasive, seamless, and serve as the nervous system of the organization.



Information Available: The collections will undergo dramatic transformation. Marcum sees that the collections will be largely patron-selected, feature multimedia resources and databases. They will support collaboration through extensive consortial arrangements with other libraries and information providers. Collection management tools will concentrate holdings where they are used, evolving with changes in curriculum and instructors. The content will be moved around the network. Acquisition and weeding may be done by automated systems. Titles may be swapped about the system.



Access to Information: Print-on-demand schemes will be extended by allowing the borrower to return an undamaged manuscript for credit. If popular they might be bound and shelved. Items may be printed on demand for preservation purposes or shared use.



Study Space: Spaces for study will be flexible and adjustable. They will be extended into other facilities and will be linked for collaboration purposes via technology such as smart boards and other visual tools. There will also be portable devices to extend the space.



Information Instruction: It is very clear that instruction for students, faculty, staff, and even the librarians will be supported. There will be learning commons and incubators. The purpose of these facilities will be to foster information literacy, media competency, and socie-technical fluency. In fact these will become core competencies for learning. Learning will be adapted to individual styles and supported by science-technology-art ateliers that will provide visualization tools, training, and support.



Information Printouts: Printing will be on demand. It will include multi-media and it is anticipated that all this will be coordinated with authors and publishers.

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These attributes assume that there will be trained and responsive staff, adequate finances, ubiquitous computing and communication, and have the human resources to xxv make it all work. I proposed a number of attributes in a publication in 1993. Some of the ideas were: 

Unitary Work Stations: I stated that “they must be flat screen, multi-media, provide high resolution images, provide content access as well as bibliographic data, be connected globally, and be multiplexed (allowing audio, video, data, and analog signals simultaneously). They should also be user driven (toward the solution of the problem) and be user adaptive (sensing that the user is a third grader, or is an adult who cannot speak or read English)”.



User Validation System: The users should have smart cards that provide validation for services and payments. The ideal would be cards that operate on a radio frequency system for reading the card when it is only in proximity to the device.



Information Dissemination Points: These systems could provide “push services” such as alerts to the user when new books or other resources become available. As part of the My Library web service the user could list the topics or items that they are interesting in receiving notifications. In a very large library there is so much going on that the inability to target the information reduces the participation in the programs or events. In fact it is a challenge just to present all of the services and resources in one coherent pattern.



Learning Content Production Centers: The library should have production centers for creating video, data bases, audio, high resolution graphics and images. Resources should be available to allow transforming content among various formats to allow preservation or value added activities. Based on my experience over the last 6 years in extended education activities I will also add that there should be production centers for extended education class creation by faculty in academic institutions. The closest existing facilities available today are the classrooms for video teleconferencing or the studios for Internet radio and TV. There should also be receiving centers that would provide a high end learning environment for library staff and other members of the community. The ultimate would be equipment and facilities that support the xxvi creation of courseware from beginning to end.



Self-assistive Devices: User terminals, browser work stations, reproduction centers, self check in machines will be commonplace. There will be a wireless network for connecting user laptops, and laptops would be checked out to people who needed them.

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Mass Capture and Preservation Machines: It will be necessary to digitize masses of information from old, decaying formats. This calls for hybrid machines that allow moving from one format to another. As the ubiquitous technology continues to move from one format to another there is a great need in every community for tools and training in moving from one format to another.



Enhanced Access Support: The faculties not only need to ensure access by everyone physically through the absence of steps and other barriers but should also include mediated access. Mediated access is what the library provides in information, knowledge, or connections to another professional who then works with the user to solve a problem. Collaborative access should also be supported. That is information seekers or researchers in geographically disperser locations can connect to solve common problems. xxvii 

Community Communication Center: An increasingly important function of the library is in the creating and sustaining communication for their community. Libraries can be powerful community building organizations. Community electronic archives should be integrated into the program for archival collections.

Alice Harrison Bahr adds some other functional spaces to the list. She considers that the college or university should supply: 

Electronic Presentation Rooms: All group spaces should have the ability to tap into the Internet, to show video or online information to large groups on screens.



Lounge Seating with Internet Connections: In today’s casual atmosphere students don’t want to just use tables or carrels. They want to use their laptops on their lap.



Amenities: She also indicates that such amenities such as cafes, computer labs, and group study rooms should be available to the user 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

Bahr makes a case for the renovation or building of library buildings as hybrids.

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xxviii

Now we can take the attributes from the list that support our library mission and place them into scenarios. Library Scenarios The image of the traditional library is embodied in the buildings in the Carnegie era. The library was a physical place; services were primarily reference, book circulation, spaces for reading. The library was seen as very static institutions and places. The users were characterized as being calm, quiet, and studious. At first even fiction books and children users were discouraged. The library was a place for serious purposes. Starting in the 1940s and into the 1950s the theme was that the library should be accessible for all and services could, and should, be provided outside the building. Now a significant portion of the users of the library’s services may never go to the library, although there doesn’t seem to be an accurate count. It is my sense however that if we had accurate counts of transactions with our users we would find that the largest growth of use is in the virtual arena. The Academic Library in 2012 These scenarios were presented in the Fairleigh Dickinson University Libraries contest. This publication of the submissions for this contest is a wonderful source of vision for the academic library in the future. Big Picture Overview One of the entries is from Stuart Silverstone who envisions a visual infrastructure of video-displaying walls, situation room theaters, learning “cafeterias”, and dispersed, theme-centered constructions utilizing multi-media “books” and other knowledge-based packages. He includes exhibits, arcades and laboratories in the facilities and anticipates virtual conferencing with access to extensive media storage. This environment will allow the students to explore issues in the way that he views journalists learning a new environment.xxix Zoom Atlas Bill Kennedy, a university webmaster, submitted this metaphor to the contest held with the Farleigh Dickinson University Libraries quest for fresh thinking. He views the library not as a room with a host but virtual reality with a “Zoom Atlas” that will “whisk” the learner to other places and times. The technology will provide enacted dialogue for conversations with people from other times and places. The learner can jump back, or jump forward. Kennedy offers the vision of a virtual “metaphor Factory” rather than just one metaphor. His vision and that of Silverstone share visions of continuous media providing the means to escape existing constraints. Kennedy agrees with Silverstone that technology will be used in the same extensive way but presents his ideas as xxx metaphors.

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Cybrarians in InfoSpace Another entry from the essay contest was submitted by a team of library school professors. They focus more on the function of the building and the role of the librarians than the others. They do project that the librarians will be communicating through Virtual Reality helmets and V-mail. They will use diagnostic tools to customize resources to individual profiles. They will be into problem solving and discovery groups. The theme of the day is learning. Working with students and learning clusters will be a major activity. They will be adept as technologists working with tools that use artificial intelligence. They will have to multitask and have the ability to work with individuals to xxxi create individual learning portfolios. Wild Card Libraries Harold Billings of the University of Texas offers the vision of libraries doing digital harvesting of information and knowledge. He anticipates that projects in research libraries will be malleable, globally linked to archives of knowledge and information when Internet 3 technologies are available. xxxii There are several other scenarios in the essays presented that seem to focus on xxxiii Although interesting they don’t seem to have functions or roles of the librarians. significant implications for the facilities. We can also find many other scenarios that are floating around. Virtual One of the most fanciful descriptions of a virtual library was presented by Lauren H. Seiler and Thomas T. Surprenant in 1993. Their Virtual Library in a Virtual Information Center is set in the late 21st Century. Everything is virtual; the walls, the doors, the windows, the shelves, and the books. The images are full-color, three-dimensional holograms. They call everything a book even if it is a video tape or other media. You can touch these things and they will open to the next level. Touch a book and it reveals chapters. Touch the chapter and you will see the content, and so on. You can also use xxxiv voice commands. Their description is quite detailed but I think you get the idea. Digital The digital library is well described in the various publications. It is not my purpose to xxxv , repeat the source information in this area. The Coalition for Networked Information xxxvi and IFLA itself provide numerous attributes The Association of Research Libraries, and models of the digital library. Most of the Scenarios are focused on content and not particularly on buildings. Peter Lyman, one of the outstanding original thinkers in this field described the digital library in 1966. xxxvii Virtual Shopping Mall One of the new developments is the creation of the virtual shopping mall inside (hosted, portalled?) the Woodland Park Library website. The library receives a commission on every item sold. Touted as a way to ensure the continued service levels in a time of

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declining budget it seems to be the new wrinkle for library service. interesting development to watch.

It will be an

Hybrid A major study on the Hybrid Library of the Future in the United Kingdom was completed in December, 2000. While it extensively explores the need of facilities for supporting students and faculty outside of the building and campus it doesn’t seem to have any xxxviii An email with one of the participants bears out my particular lessons for buildings. impression that it is mostly about services and technologies. xxxix The probability is that the successful library of the future will be some kind of a hybrid library. It will encompass both bricks and clicks. In San Jose California the new Martin Luther King library is a hybrid of another sort. Opening in August of this year it will be the largest combined facility for a public library and a university library in the United States. It is too early to measure the success of this project at this time. A more recent study done in xl Australia supports the conclusion that the library of the future will be hybrid The Library of Babel This is a very fanciful, often obtuse vision, but contains some vivid images of what the library looks like to Jorge Luis Borges, an Argentine writer, poet, philosopher and Director of the Argentine National Library. xli

Mall of the Mind I created some controversy on the part of the staff at SFPL when I said that what I thought we were creating was a “mall of the mind”. I had recently observed that the shopping mall had become the social center for many young people, teens, and other groups. The bright new malls with food courts, entertainment, and spaces for parking and walking were becoming prominent social spaces. They are protected, environmentally friendly spaces. This fact hit me as I was sitting in the promenade of a remodeled mall in San Francisco enjoying xlii a free jazz concert. The place buzzed with life.

Preparing for the future: is it a plan, a map, or a radar screen? In starting to plan for a new facility, virtual or physical, it is a challenge to identify the starting point. In looking at approaches that have been used in the past we see a number of dogmas or templates at work. They range from the traditional plan which includes such elements as the mission of the library, strategic goals, objectives, timelines and benchmarks. It is my experience that an element often lacking or unclear is the vision of where the library wants to go. I do include strategic planning in my

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course at the SJSU SLIS titled LIBR 204 Information Organizations and Management. xliii In a very brief presentation and exercise I have the students cover the standard elements that include the mission of the library, strategic goals and objectives, measurements, and timelines benchmarks. While certainly not exhaustive the assignment does get them thinking about planning and many go on to develop real plans for the organization where they work. I have added another element to the traditional methodology and that is for a visioning process. The traditional planning process is based on rational, linear extensions of the past. This may have been effective in the 1950s to 1980s when much of the modern management theory and practice was developed. However, the fact that during those times the goal for management was to create stable organizations has lessened the effectiveness of the process. The rapid pace of change and the need for organizations to respond to this change in a timely manner places a premium on organizations that are flexible. A road map approach doesn’t do much good when you don’t know where you are going. The radar screen analogy is often used to describe some of the newer concepts for planning. Thus the goal is to identify significant trends in society, the business, and community. Then the organization responds to these trends, and the good organizations will provide leadership in the transition. On the other hand even the pilot that is watching the radar screen needs to have a destination. I call that the vision and require students to build a vision for their organization. The mission is the statement of what the organization is and does, the vision is where it wants to be in the future, and the strategic goals are the steps to get there. In addition, there must be objectives to break down the goals into shorter time spans and smaller tasks and measurements which are critical to success. I teach that if you can’t measure current status of the activity or organization, and status in the future through numerical indicators then it is a waste of time to attempt to plan. Of course, a vision must be developed with involvement and contribution of all the stake holders in order to ensure success. A good approach is presented in Scenario Planning xliv This book provides a place to start on creating for Libraries edited by Joan Giesecke. a vision. I also urge the students to “connect the dots”. That is to find source material, analyze and understand it, bring in their own knowledge base, develop an integrated view of libraries, and communicate it to me electronically since most of my class is online. I also urge the students to find or develop themes and stories for communication purpose.

Pulling it together: connecting the dots for the generation X library We need to take the best knowledge of the past, add the knowledge of today, and combine it with a vision to reach the future. Thomas Horan presents the concept of Recombinant Architecture as a way to design electronically-mediated physical places. Recombinant Architecture is the process of integrating digital technology features into hybrid electronic-physical spaces. Since the nature and character of physical structures

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evolve over time it is only natural to incorporate the digital technology applications as you go along. Horan puts forward several principles that are integral to the recombinant redesign process. These are: 1)

Meaningful places – the need to understand and maintain the value of physical places,

2)

Fluid locations – the need to recognize that the electronic phenomenon changes the spatial glue between activities and their spatial location,

3)

Digital thresholds – the need to recognize design elements in parallel physical/electronic design and the thresholds that connect them, and

4)

Democratic designs – the need to incorporate a range of decision makers into the recombinant design process. xlv

Horan’s thinking provides a lead into a discussion of the most visible Recombinant Library at this time – The Cerritos Public Library. Cerritos Public Library The Cerritos Public Library in California is the best library showplace at this time. Opened in 2002 the building isn’t just a vessel for the contents; it is part of the show. The Director, Wayyn Pearson, describes it as an experiential building. Your surroundings in the building are crafted so that you are transported over time and distance. The best way to describe it is to provide a tour. The metaphors pour out of the brochures and I give credit to the Director and his creative team for providing a metaphor for just about any thing. As you approach the building you see a titanium clad structure that changes color with changes in the environment (imagining the future).xlvi Rising from white columns and portions of the previous building (honoring the past) it dominates the skyline of the civic center. In the plaza are three water fountains. One which is somewhat traditional with a vertical round disk, one has dolphins amidst spouting water jets that invite the children to participate (swimming with the dolphins), and the third is a whimsical, active piece that is very colorful. The third one is reminiscent of the active water feature at the Pompidou Center in Paris. I am very fond of this kind of whimsy in public spaces. The one in Paris inspired me so much that I wanted one for the PPLD library park. Unfortunately, we didn’t have the funding for the water feature or the sculpture garden that I had in my vision for the library in Colorado Springs.

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The library is set in an excellent public space with grass, colorful flower beds, and eye catching items. I saw people reading, talking, or just enjoying being outside in this space. The place, exterior and interior, is busy, popular, and the people have smiles on their faces. The ambiance is lively, and friendly.

At the entrance is a large video screen that can be programmed centrally for different communication functions. Prior to the building’s opening each day it features bright cheery videos such as the scene from the movie Oklahoma with Gordon MacRae singing “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin”. That sets the stage for a cheery entrance. The farewell song “So long, Farewell” from the Sound of Music is featured to tell everyone that the library is closing and is piped throughout the building. Again, this conveys to the public an important message while leaving them with a pleasant feeling. The sense of welcome is carried into the entrance where you are greeted by another large screen video that provides another audio/visual message. At that point there is a reception desk, like at a fine restaurant, where you are welcomed by a person. Staffing is rotated among the staff and they give the sense that they are there to guide you. This welcoming aspect is throughout the building. All staff, including the Director, are scheduled for public service duty and the opportunity to interact with the public regularly. The entrance walkway becomes the main street. As you progress down the Main Street you are drawn into different functional parts of the library. You usually see the new “store” before you arrive at its entrance. To the immediate right is the traditional reading room (The Old World Library) with dark wooden furniture in traditional bookcases, tables, chairs, and light fixtures. At the other end is the fireplace with comfortable chairs. The fireplace is a perfect symbol for the library as an example of using new technologies to experience the past. The fireplace was created by Disney and isn’t a fire at all. It is a video image projected on a surface in the fireplace. It

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looks very inviting and it is usual to see people with their feet tucked up under them reading a book or journal in front of the fireplace. Some folks even stand in front of the “fire” with their hands behind their back seemingly soaking up the heat. (There is some heat from the light bulbs in the projection system). The system is on a timer and other than an occasional bulb replacement requires no maintenance or attention by the staff.

If you look left at the entrance you will see the wall outside the children’s library. It is very colorful and inviting. The centerpiece is a huge aquarium that is brimming with active fish. The highlight is probably the small sharks that swim about. As you pass the fish tank there are two entrances into the children’s department. One of them is in the style of entering books in a book case and the other is through the experiential portal to children’s stories. On one side of the entrance there is a video screen into which your image is imported into one of 6 stories. You can select the story if you know the magic key. Passing through that portal you enter a space that is a kaleidoscope of visions. There is a full sized dinosaur skeleton named Stan over the bookcases. Of course you can see the other side of the fish tank. If you are a little person you can view close-ups of the fish on a video screen placed at children’s height. Next to the fish tank is a wall designed to provide vertical visual space for images that support learning (a learning wall). The floor below the wall is made of recycled materials and provide as spongy surface like the floor of a forest. Down the pathway you are enticed into the learning space that is a children’s auditorium for group activities. To the right of the pathway is the rain forest complete with bird sounds from a tropical forest. The ”Wetlands” computer workstation area offers Internet access through a portal of safe sites for children. There are interactive learning stations throughout the children’s department and the entire library. The center ceiling has a projected sky that rotates views. Part of the ceiling is a constellation map with the stars being small

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pricks of light. The children’s service desk blares “Help” in red neon letters making it clear to everybody where you go to ask questions. There is another activity room in the corner. Entering the children’s center you enter a whirlwind of images, artifacts, and sensations. The physical features are energized by the liveliness of the little participants. It truly is like a theme park for children. The handiwork of Disney and other very creative enterprises is obvious. Yet, it has a serious purpose. The opportunities for learning extend far beyond the print, and even the audiovisual. It is experiential. It is the vision of the Director that library will become the most powerful learning space for the community. While the children’s center is the most visible and experiential part of the library the rest of the library places all have themes. On down Main Street is the registration desk where you can have staff check your items in and out. Of course, there is a self check out machine if you want to do it yourself. At the registration desk you can also reserve meeting facilities and get your debit card for photocopying, stamps, and other housekeeping tasks. To the right is the Friends of the Library shop where branded items such as golf shirts, hats and so on are proving to be popular. In fact the library will be making these items available for sale on the Internet. Next to that is an information station featuring information about the city departments, functions, and meetings (the after hours City Hall). On down to the right is a browsing area with stand up computer stations for quick look ups. There is also a service area that includes copying machines, stamp machines, and other self-service equipment. It isolates the noise and activity from the other areas of the library. At the north end of the Main Street on the right is the magazine/newspaper/paperbacks center and reference works. It is across from the teen center in the upper level and the Great Room in the lower level. The furniture and décor in the Teen Center are reproductions from the art deco period of design. It looks very much like retro southern California. The Multimedia Room is behind the Great Room. Going back to the entrance and starting over you have a third choice of direction. An escalator st takes you up to the next level where you enter the 21 Century. The décor is high tech. Your first view straight head is at the staff service station announced by a holographic sign. As you survey the scene you see that there are dozens of networked work stations available to the public across the open atrium. Being very busy both times I have visited I had the sense of arriving at an old time large train station where everyone hurries to the pay phones on the wall. In this case they are connecting to the world through Internet work stations. Staff with technical expertise roams the floor to assist or

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train people. They are connected to each other and other staff in the building with wireless telephones on headsets. Many of the staff carries local communication devices to stay connected to each other. The security hub is at the entrance and staffed by security people who are not only trained in ensuring the safety of the people, the contents, and the building itself, but are schooled in assisting people. A direct entrance to an elevator that will take you to the higher levels is adjacent to the main public entrance. Here you can bypass the experiential part of the entry, or enter after hours. The third level contains the large multi-purpose community meeting rooms with catering facilities and a high tech training room. Expansive roof top patios are available to the users of the conference facilities. The library has plans to create a café in the north end of the building. It would appear that it might be popular since there is little food service in the neighborhood. I have only hit some of the highlights of the Cerritos Public Library. You will have to visit xlvii The Director sees the next stage of development as the creation of one of it yourself. the best community based learning centers in the world. Disney and others is very interested in being involved in this development. The Director is also involved in the planning a community museum nearby so I anticipate that it will be thematically connected to the library. I salute the Director and his creative team for their vision and eagerly await future developments. They were very creative in their approach to the design. Pearson is a great believer in the importance of story. The staff created stories and themes and then used storyboarding as a technique to convey them to the architect. The story line for the entire project is Honoring the past – Imagining the future. Pearson proudly boasts that “Our product is the user” and is “User-Centric”. He defines User-centric Service as: 

Links a library’s effectiveness to how patrons rate their visit.



Brings backroom staff onto the floor to maximize the personal touch.



Promotes a multi-sensory learning environment.



Never marginalizes the preeminence of books in the library mission. xlviii

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The Cerritos Public Library is just unveiling a new website that is designed to carry the themes and the learning opportunities into the virtual world. It remains to be seen how that will grow. Lessons learned I suggest that there are three key elements for a library to succeed as a vital institution in its community in the future. These are: Community Connectedness, Visionary Leadership, and Authoritative Control. It is critical that the library have a strong symbiotic relationship with the community it serves, the respect and support of the authorities above it, and the communication capability to engage, inform, and educate people about the project. Without library building experience in the visionary leadership the vision might be driven by considerations rather than the library program. The Los Angeles Public Library had functional limitations forced on it in order to preserve the old building. In Sacramento the use of redevelopment money forced the library to compromise its program space severely. And, finally the visionaries must have authority or support to implement the vision that has been developed with the community. In San Francisco there were way too many people with real or assumed authority and thus the vision was compromised severely in the implementation. The library in Cerritos had all of the elements for success. It is also clear that Recombinant Architecture is the best approach for designing libraries for the future. The attributes, roles, scenarios, relative proportions of physical and virtual space, and styles should be assessed and recombined on a regular basis. Pearson from Cerritos contends that you should build a new library building every 20 xlix We have already seen the changed proportions in space in the past 50 years. years. This space has changed in size relative to the whole and often changed functions. Much less space in buildings today is devoted to book storage. Storage space includes computer servers and other equipment. There is much more space devoted to people and the space required for the workstation per person is larger than it was for them to read print material. The infrastructure of the building and the space allocations must provide for the technologies. Communication functions such as meeting rooms, group workrooms, exhibits, teleconferencing, and training are now required in library building programs. Social or amenity spaces are also an important part. They include cafes, coffee bars, teen centers, and children’s story space. There has to be a balance between flexibility in the spaces and program focused spaces. Many libraries that have large open designs, such as Phoenix Public Library, have had success in attracting users by creating themed spaces for children and teens. There is still work to be done in combining the physical features of the library with the virtual technologies. Libraries routinely provide access to their catalog, information on programming and other information tidbits, online database access, and access to journal articles to their community. There are some libraries that are starting to provide wireless connections throughout the facility and some campuses are wiring up for campus-wide access. That may be the next major break through in the use of technology.

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As we move forward we don’t really know the destination so we have to be like Lewis and Clark and follow the story as it unfolds. We have heard of features over the horizon but we don’t really know what they are. Lewis and Clark knew that if they traveled far enough that they should reach the Pacific Ocean. They followed rivers as much as possible since traveling by boat was easier than by land at that time. They met new peoples. Some they befriended and they had hostile encounters with others. The knowledge of the natives was added to the store of knowledge about the journey. Their observations were meticulously recorded in their journals. These journals became the l base of a whole new chapter in knowledge about North America. Their experience shows us a way to move forward into unmapped territory – the future. i

Dowlin, Kenneth. The Electronic Library: The Promise and the Process. New York: Neal-Schuman, 1984. An extensive look at the background of the author is available: iii Ranganathan, S. R. The Five Laws of Library Science. 2nd ed. New Delhi: Vikas, 1957. iv Photo from website at: v Photo from author’s personal collection. More information is available:

vi Photo from author’s personal collection. vii Photos on this page are from website available: viii Available: ix LIBRARY: The Drama Within, Photographs by Diane Asseo Griliches, Essay by Daniel J. Boorstin. Albuquerque, N.M.: University of New Mexico Press in association with the Center for Book in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 1996. x Available: < http://info.jefferson.lib.co.us/locations/ar.html> xi Dowlin, Kenneth E. “CATV + NCPL = VRS” Library Journal, 95 no. 5 (September 1970). xii Available: < http://www.library.natrona.net/> xiii Photo from author’s personal collection. xiv Images from author’s personal collection. xv Dowlin, Kenneth E., “The integrated library system”, The Electronic Library 3 no 5 (December 1985), or “Maggie III: The Prototypical Library System”, Library Hi Tech 16 no 7 (Winter 1986). xvi Quinn, Judy, “California Dreaming: DOWLIN & CO. DESIGN A NEW MAIN LIBRARY”, Library Journal, 117 no 10 (June 1 1992). xvii Horan, Thomas A. “A New Civic Architecture: Bringing Electronic Space to Public Place”. Retrieved from: on 7/17/2001. xviii Image is from the website of the publisher. xix A Library for All Times, Malmo Sweden: Swedish Council for Cultural Affairs in cooperation with Kunskapsbanken Foundation and Wildell-Gruppen, 1997. xx Kilgour, Frederick G. “The Metamorphosis of Libraries During the Foreseeable Future.” Libraries and the Future: Essays on the Library in the Twenty-First Century, edited by F. W. Lancaster, New York: Haworth Press, 1993. xxi Marcum, James W. “Visions: The Academic Library in 2012.” D-Lib Magazine, 9 No. 5 (May 2003) Available: xxii Marcum xxiii Marcum xxiv Strategic Technology Plan for Broward County Library. Unpublished. ii

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Marcum Photo from author’s personal collection xxvii Dowlin, Kenneth E. “The Neographic Library: A 30- Year Perspective on Public Libraries.” Libraries and the Future: Essays on the Library in the Twenty-First Century, edited by F. W. Lancaster, New York: Haworth Press, 1993. xxviii Bahr, Alice Harrison, “Library buildings in a digital age, why bother? Defending new library buildings and additions to college administrators and trustees”. College & Research Libraries News 61 no 7 (July/August 2000). xxix Stuart Silverstone, “Big-Picture-Overview Exhibit Displays: Books, Visuals, Virtual.” Avalailable:

xxx William R. Kennedy, “Metaphor Factory.” Available:

xxxi Thomas T. Surprenant and Claudia A. Perry, “The Academic Cybrarian in 2012: A Futuristic Essay.” Available: xxxii Billings, Harold, “The Wild Card Academic Library in 2013,” College and Research Libraries 64, no 2 (March 2003). xxxiii Available: xxxiv Seiler, Lauren H. and Thomas T. Surprenant. “The Virtual Information Center: Scholars and Information in the Twenty-First Century.” Libraries and the Future: Essays on the Library in the TwentyFirst Century, edited by F. W. Lancaster, New York: Haworth Press, 1993. xxxv Available: xxxix Personal email with Graham Walton on June 9, 2003 xl Jones, David, “People Places: Public Library Buildings for the New Millennium” Australasian Public Libraries and Information Services, 14 no 3 (Summer 2001). xli Available: xliv Scenario Planning for Libraries, edited by Joan Giesecke, Chicago: American Library Association, 1998. xlv Horan xlvi The photos of the Cerritos Public Library are by the author or from the Cerritos Public Library website. xlvii Available: xlviii Williams, Joan Frye, “Shaping the ‘Experience Library’ American Libraries 33 no 4 (April 2002). xlix Personal discussion with the author on June 4, 2003 l Available: